A night to begin, a year to explore: opening Postcolonial?

The opening night of Postcolonial? held on 17 April 2026, brought together over 800 partners, collaborators, artists, and members of the public, in a shared moment of reflection and exchange. 

This is the eighth major exhibition the museum has presented since 2017, and the third I have worked on in my position in the events team. It also comes ahead of a significant milestone – our tenth anniversary in 2027!

The evening began with a reception to acknowledge those who helped bring this thought-provoking and necessary exhibition to life, before opening its doors more widely for powerful performances by La Candidate Sans-Papiers and DJ JOKI. 

I had the sense that the audience felt the weight and relevance of the topic, not least because the guided tours with curators were fully booked well in advance of the evening.

Two moments stayed with me in particular. The workshop led by Indikon, which brought together the ancient practice of block printing with the messages of visitors to the exhibition, creating a collective gesture of expression. And above all, the opportunity to meet in person, often for the first time, the individuals who shared their stories for Postcolonial? and whose voices and experiences are present throughout the exhibition.

So what’s next? Well Postcolonial? is open until March 2027 – and I recommend you (re)-visit it when there’s more time and space. But also the opening evening was just a start of an events programme unfolding across the year, shaped by the Public Programme Circle – a group of eight experts, artists, educators, and practitioners who ensure that the programme is not only intellectually rigorous, but also rooted in lived experience, community connections and dialogue. 

The programme thus offers a wide range of entry points. For example in the upcoming months we have the following: in May, dedicated exhibition tours alongside two storytelling and puppet-making workshops, where Congolese artist Justice Kasongo Dibwe will guide children in creating their own stories of liberation. In June, two days with Maria Galindo and La Candidate Sans-Papiers will bring together workshops, assemblies and cross-border performances to collectively imagine what comes “after borders”.

Check out the line-up for the whole year, and mark in your calendar where you’d like to attend.